Smile Like You Mean It
by SilentJo
Summary: Secrets revealed behind a menacing grin. What does Dabi want to share with Shoto Todoroki so badly? Day 6 of BNHA Angst Week 2019- Smile/Memories


"Looks like you're on your own, little hero. Think you can take me on by yourself?" Dabi hadn't expected to see anyone so soon after making the anonymous call reporting the Nomu attack. Especially for someone to arrive without any backup. He wondered if this is what Shoto Todoroki had planned to do, getting him cornered one-on-one.

"Without a doubt, I'll stop you from doing any more damage to this town and its people," Shoto said confidently. Beginning his attack with an ice barrage, he watched as the villain let loose a burst of blue flames that ate through his ice within seconds.

"You should know better than to think that ice can beat fire. My flames burn hotter than anything you could conjure up. Though I'm sure you haven't used your left side nearly as much, so there's no way you could attempt to challenge my power!"

Shoto's brow furrowed with confusion. How could this villain know the inner details of his Quirk? As Dabi approached, Shoto heated up the air around him, then chilled it suddenly, creating a haze to provide cover while he thought of a way to beat him.

"You're wondering how I knew that, right? Just how could a villain know so much about a little student hero like yourself? You'd probably never believe the answer, but if you manage to best me, I may tell you. How's that for incentive, Shoto?"

"Don't speak to me so casually, bastard…" Shoto took the opportunity to get in close, hoping to surprise him with a freezing attack that would immobilize Dabi. But just as he started to form the ice, Dabi blasted his flames towards the ground, projecting himself into the air and landing far enough to avoid capture.

"Nice try, little hero. You remind me of myself at a younger age. I doubt you could relate, coming from such a prestigious family, but I had to fight day in and day out to get stronger so I could prove my old man wrong. No one believed in my ability to wield these blue flames, not even my own mother. But I proved them wrong, didn't I?" Dabi unleashed another flame attack, taking on the properties of a whip, lashing out at Shoto before returning to its origin. On its second pass, the line divided into two, with Shoto avoiding the first but getting hit by the second. Falling to his back, he leaned up to see Dabi retracting his fiery weapon.

"I may not have turned out to be the good little hero they wanted, but I definitely perfected the use of my Quirk. Although, there were some… accidents along the way," Dabi said as he looked at the scarred and stapled skin lining his arms and wrists. "I didn't need to become a hero like my father to show my power!" Dabi stomped on Shoto's left ankle, forcing it to bend in an unnatural direction before letting up.

"Did you know what he would do if I didn't meet his expectations while we trained? He'd shove me in a closet and lock me inside for hours, sometimes even into the next day. No amount of crying or beating on the door would bring help. My mother kept her distance from us, because he had no problem taking his anger out on her, too. Not that she deserved any sympathy. All she cared about was her younger children and keeping them safe."

Shoto writhed in pain as he dragged himself away, trying to buy himself some distance from his foe. He didn't know why Dabi was sharing so much of his past with him. It had to be some ploy or trick. Coating his ankle in ice as a makeshift brace, he got to his feet again, though unsteady at first.

"I don't need to hear your backstory, Dabi. If you feel the need to share it, tell it to the authorities while they interrogate you."

"Oh, well that's where you're wrong, little hero. You'll be quite interested to hear the rest of my story. But you'll have to make me submit first."

Shoto thought about his strategy and decided to take a page from Dabi's own book. He sent another flow of ice towards him, and as he anticipated the direction Dabi would dodge, forked the ice in that direction, narrowly catching his leg within the ice. Once he was stuck, Shoto finished the job, completely freezing Dabi within a thick shell of ice, leaving only his neck and face exposed.

"I think you'll find it difficult to counter this, so consider yourself beaten. Save your words, I don't need to hear what you have to say."

Dabi laughed, "You certainly got the better of me, kid. He must have put a lot of time into training you to be so quick on your feet. You always were the favorite, Shoto. I remember when that damn Quirk of yours first manifested, that old bastard practically drooled all over himself thinking of how perfect you were! All the work I'd put in was quickly forgotten when you appeared, little brother."

Eyes widened and with arms shaking, Shoto took a step back and looked harder at the villain before him. "No. I don't believe it. I won't listen to these lies!"

"What'd they tell you, that your oldest brother passed away or something? Who knows what bullshit they used as an excuse after kicking me out. Not that I'd expect you to know. You were still just a little kid, barely out of your diapers."

"You're not Touya. There's no way he'd turn out to be someone like you!"

Dabi grinned at Shoto, taking pleasure in the younger boy's panicked expression. "Is it that hard to believe, though? You don't think it's impossible for me to have inherited these blue flames from Endeavor? I've seen him manage to turn his own flames blue, though it wore him down pretty good to do so."

Shoto didn't want to believe it. He had very few memories of his oldest brother, but those he did have were all happy moments. Touya laying in bed with him as he read him his favorite story until he fell asleep. Watching the fireworks from the roof of their house during the summer festival. The evil man before him couldn't be the same person that had treated him with so much kindness and love.

"How about this, kid. Let's go face the old man right now. You can find out for yourself just how many skeletons are hiding in the perfect Todoroki family closet."

Shaking his head, Shoto avoided looking into Dabi's eyes, the same steel blue shade as his father. He'd settled his feelings so long ago, accepting that Touya was gone and not coming back. Shoto didn't know what he should do now that he was still alive and breathing before him. His heart ached, wrenched with both joy and pain at the fact that the brother he'd idolized for such a short time was a deadly enemy to him now.

"I should have been the one to surpass both All Might and our father. Did you know that thanks to our mother's ice Quirk my body couldn't handle the heat from my fire at first? That's why they didn't take me seriously when I wanted to train. All the time I spent locked in the dark, it only made me want that number one spot even more! I constantly burned myself over and over and OVER again to get my body accustomed to handle my flames. I destroyed so much of myself to meet his expectations. And just to have you take all their adoration and attention. Just because you happened to be born with both fire and ice running through you."

"If you hated me that much, why did you tuck me in to bed at night? Or point out the stars and their names when we sat on the roof at night? Why show me that kind of brotherly affection when you just resented me?!"

Dabi's expression dropped, "I didn't think you'd remember back that far." That was before you manifested your abilities. No one knew what you'd be capable of, especially me. If I'd known you'd replace me and make all my achievements useless, I would have shoved a pillow over your face and suffocated you as you slept."

Bringing his hands up to his face, Shoto braced his temples, his head numb with so much information being taken in. His world had been so stable before. Yeah, he had his own issues with his father, but that was nothing compared to what Touya was telling him about the past. Endeavor had never forced him into a closet to waste away. He was ruthless and violent in his training, but he'd never done anything that cruel. Tears stung his eyes as he realized how damaged Touya was.

His blurred vision prevented him from seeing the approaching attack until it was too late to move. The Nomu charged toward Shoto, sharp teeth jutting out from a gaping jaw. The thick, lengthy talons at the end of its arms clenched and pointed forward, ready to run the hero through. And it would have, if the blast of blue flame hadn't engulfed the creature, causing it to writhe around as it burned. Even while wounded, it still blindly swiped its arms out, the mission that had been set out for it still needed to be fulfilled. Dabi had been put in control of it and knew it wouldn't stop until those targeted as enemies were destroyed.

Shoto had jumped out of the way, hitting the ground hard and rolling further to avoid the monster's rampage. The heat from Dabi's blast had melted the ice bracing his leg, slowing his movement. He had almost gotten to his feet when the Nomu attacked again. This time, Shoto was pushed out of the way by Dabi, who wasn't fast enough to avoid the sharp claws from impaling him in his brother's place. While stuck hanging at the end of the Nomu's arm, Dabi reached his hands out to grab its head, setting off the brightest flame Shoto had ever seen. The Nomu was dead before it even hit the ground, pinning Dabi beneath it.

"Touya!" Shoto yelled as he limped to his side. There was no simple way to extract his brother without causing more harm to him. "Just hold on, we can get help here!"

Coughing until he could see blood spray from his mouth, Dabi waved him down. "Just stop it with the heroics. Save it for someone that deserves to be saved, kid."

"The ice… You could have broken free of it at any time?"

Dabi smiled at his little brother again, no malice could be seen in his expression this time. "Funny thing about having a body that's suited for an ice Quirk and not fire. The cold doesn't bother me, so yeah it would have been nothing for me to get out of your little ice prison. You did catch me off guard though, so I decided to indulge you for a while."

"But you protected me from the Nomu. Twice," Shoto's shaky voice said as his eyes darted to the monstrous spikes that ran through Touya's chest and stomach and looked away just as quickly.

"No one is gonna kill you but me, kid. No one."

And just like that, Shoto's oldest brother was taken from him. Again.


End file.
